We are deeply saddened by the sudden death of leading Pakistani lawyer and activist Asma Jahangir, who died of cardiac arrest in Lahore on February 11 and was laid to rest today. Asma Jahangir remained at the forefront of the human rights movement in Pakistan throughout her long and distinguished career. Her relentless struggle to…

ISLAMABAD, 22nd January 2018: Media Matters for Democracy condemns the manhandling of journalist Fawad Hasan, who was reportedly picked up from University of Karachi by plainclothes men for unexplained interrogation and manhandled during the process. Fawad Hasan, a senior sub-editor with The Express Tribune, was reportedly picked up during a condolence meeting held for Dr Hassan…

ISLAMABAD, 10 January 2018: Media Matters for Democracy strongly condemns the attack and attempted abduction of journalist Taha Siddiqui, Pakistan Bureau Chief of World is One News, WION. The attack, that happened at 8:30 am in the Capital Islamabad, reflects the state’s failure to address the continued attacks against media and journalists community in Pakistan. “Such…

Islamabad, 9 January 2017: Media Matters for Democracy, Digital Rights Foundation and Pakistan Press Foundation have filed a public petition with the Senate of Pakistan, urging to take threats to women journalists and perils in the digital world into consideration while drafting the ‘Journalist Safety Bill’. The Senate Standing Committee on Information Broadcasting and National Heritage formed…

ISLAMABAD, 25 November 2017: PML-N government’s move to block citizen’s access to all information channels, including TV news and social media, reek of dictatorial attitude and are highly condemnable. PEMRA’s decision to suspend the broadcast of all news channels is one of the worst cases of media censorship Pakistan has experienced, with parallels only in…

Islamabad, 5 November 2017: Media Matters for Democracy under its initiative #MediaForTransparency completed a series of extensive data journalism training programs designed specifically for Pakistani journalists. #MediaForTransparency is an MMFD initiative that seeks to incorporate and demonstrate the use of Right to information, and data and investigative journalism. The program seeks to simultaneously work with…

Sindh and its provincial capital Karachi, are known for highest target-killing of media workers. Nearly 30% of total journalists died in the line of duty were based in Sindh. A total of 20 journalists and media workers have died in the line of duty in Karachi, 16 of which were targeted, 14 with complete impunity. To…

Islamabad, 1 November 2017: National and international media rights groups call upon the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, to take notice of the impunity in crimes against journalists and honor the commitments made by Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan has, time and again, made it to the list of ‘most dangerous countries for…

ISLAMABAD, 27 OCTOBER 2017: Media Matters for Democracy condemns the cowardly attack on senior journalist Ahmed Noorani, associated with The News. Noorani was targeted at Zero Point in Islamabad by six knife-wielding men and is currently hospitalized after sustaining multiple injuries. The incident has occurred just five days before the world marks the International Day…

ISLAMABAD, 21 October 2017: The recovery of Zeenat Shehzadi, a journalist missing for over two years is a step in the right direction. Media Matters for Democracy urges the government to continue investigations into the journalist’s disappearance and bring the perpetrators to justice. As per media reports, Shahzadi has been recovered from the Pakistan Afghanistan…

Islamabad, 18 October 2017: Media Matters for Democracy under its initiative ‘Report for Digital Rights’ launches ‘Digital Rights Monitor’, Pakistan’s first digital rights news portal hosted at digitalrightsmonitor.pk ‘Report for Digital Rights’ aims to politicise and bring in the mainstream the debate on digital rights and Internet governance in Pakistan. The portal includes original journalistic…

ISLAMABAD, 13 October 2017: Media Matters for Democracy is extremely concerned at the threat of a new wave of violence against journalists in Balochistan, already a heavily targeted lot. The threat issues by the proscribed United Balochistan Army is grave in nature and the government needs to respond urgently to the threat. As per media…

In 2013, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan became the first to pass a second generation information law – the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Bill 2013 is cited to be one of the best information laws in the world. The Punjab province followed suit and the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013…

Islamabad, Pakistan, 29th September 2017: Media Matters for Democracy is extremely concerned about another suspension in cellular services in Pakistan around Ashura, just before the observance of 9th and 10th of Muharram processions. The services were allegedly suspended in more than 30 cities and districts of Pakistan, and are feared to get worst on 9th and…

Islamabad, 26 September 2017: Media Matters for Democracy joined the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and the Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists to protest against a blatant attack on Matiullah Jan’s vehicle. Matiullah Jan’s vehicle came under attack on 24th September, when two unidentified men on a motorcycle hurled a brick at his car’s windscreen. His…

Islamabad, 25 September 2017: Media Matters for Democracy is extremely concerned over an attack on tjhe vehicle of Matiullah Jan, a senior journalist and anchorperson working for Waqt television. In an extremely unfortunate incident, Matiullah’s vehicle was attacked with a brick by two unidentified men on a motorcycle, who managed to get away. Matiullah Jan’s…

Islamabad, 10 August 2017: Media Matters for Democracy hosts specialised orientation sessions for journalists and anchorpersons to assist them in breaking down Internet governance and digital rights issues and produced more nuanced journalistic content with a strong focus on public interests. In the digital world that we live in today, digital rights and Internet governance…

We are super excited to announce the launch of ‘Understanding Internet Rights’ which is an excellent resource for journalists to be specific but in general, anyone who is interested to know more about digital rights and the laws that govern cyber-space in Pakistan. Through this field guide, we aim to assist media professionals in enhancing their understanding…

Islamabad, Pakistan, 12 June 2017: Pakistan remains extremely perilous for media practitioners. According to Media Matters for Democracy’s statistics, a journalist dies in the line of duty roughly every 2 months in Pakistan. Over 17 years, 120 journalists have lost their lives and a clear majority of deceased were targeted; identified and shot. In 2017…

Islamabad, 9 January 2017: Media Matters for Democracy, voices grave concerns regarding the recent wave of abductions and disappearances of bloggers and writers from Lahore and Islamabad. MMfD considers such disappearances a direct threat to rule of law and to freedom of expression, a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right of citizens. We ask the Government of Pakistan…

Media Matters for Democracy and Code for Pakistan brought together a dynamic group of civil society, corporate and technical stakeholders in a design thinking session focused on designing digital solutions for countering online abuse against women. The session, held at IGF 2016, was an extension of MMfD’s work to explore alternate solutions and redressal mechanisms for…

Islamabad, 24 October 2016: Media Matters for Democracy hosts talks in three public/private universities to inform students of the dangers of newly enacted Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016. The government of Pakistan has recently enacted PECA to deal with cyber crimes in Pakistan. The law, while it has some useful components such as punishments…

Islamabad, Pakistan, 21 October 2016: ARTICLE 19 and Media Matters for Democracy are concerned about a government decision to place a Pakistani journalist Cyril Almeida on the Exit Control List (ECL), effectively barring him from leaving the country. The journalist, associated with Dawn newspaper, was informed of the decision following the publication of an article highlighting a…

Islamabad, 26 September 2016: Media Matters for Democracy is proud to announce our latest initiative Muavin, an open source digital tool to support women facing harassment online. The initiative has been launched with support from Association for Progressive Communications, APC and is being implemented with the technical partnership of Code for Pakistan, CFP. Women who…

Islamabad, 12 August 2016: Muhafiz, Pakistan’s first digital threat reporting system for journalists and bloggers is live in Peshawar. Developed by Media Matters for Democracy and Code for Pakistan with support from UNESCO and Foundation Open Society Institute, Muhafiz is an app combined with a web-portal and seeks to streamline the threat reporting practices of…

Islamabad, 11 August 2016: Pakistan’s new and controversial cybercrime bill is poised to become a law after the National Assembly passed it today. The Bill now has the approval of both upper and lower house of the Parliament and requires only the presidential signature before formally being enacted as a law. Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD),…

Islamabad, 27 July 2017: Members of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and Media Matters for Democracy called upon the Chairman Senate, Senator Raza Rabbani to brief him on the implications of the proposed cybercrime legislation on civil liberties. Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016, commonly referred to as the cybercrime bill, is currently under…

Islamabad, 27 July 2016: Media Matters for Democracy, as a last resort, takes to lobbying with opposition senators and legislators to push for reforms in oppressive Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 on the floor of the Senate. The Senate Committee on Information Technology was tasked by the Senate Chairman to work towards reforms in…

Islamabad, 26 July 2017: The leadership of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, National Press Club and civil society members on the call of Media Matters for Democracy took to streets to protest the negative implications of proposed cybercrimes bill on journalists and journalism in Pakistan. The protest demonstration was held in front of the…

Islamabad, 26 July 2016: Media Matters for Democracy’s representatives Sadaf Khan, Asad Baig and Mohsin Saleem participated in a consultation on Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill hosted by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. HRCP called upon representatives of various organisations and individuals pushing for reforms in the soon to be passed PECB 2016. The session…

Islamabad, 3 July 2017: Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 is to undergo another set of amendments following meetings of Senate Sub-Committee formulated to recommend amendments. A three-member committee, led by Senator Osman Saifullah from Pakistan Peoples Party has been tasked with formulating recommendations for amendments in PECB2016. The Committee convened its first meeting on…

Islamabad, 22 June 2017: A Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom called Media Matters for Democracy’s Executive Director Asad Baig and Program’s Director Sadaf Khan to hear a petition submitted in Senate earlier this month. The petition was jointly initiated (and submitted) by MMfD and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and co-signed by…

Islamabad, 1 June 2016: Media Matters for Democracy, Bytes for All, the Rawalpindi Islamabad Union of Journalists and National Press Club hosted a joint consultation with journalists, civil society leaders, and Senators, to highlight and discuss the implications of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill’s implications on journalists and journalism in Pakistan. The advocacy event was…

Executive summary Every 3rd May, UNESCO and the UN commemorates the World Press Freedom Day with the aim to advance the fundamental principles of press freedom and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. This year, the World Press Freedom Day coincides with three important milestones: The…

Islamabad, 17 April 2017: The Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Broadcasting and National Heritage on Friday recommended that the government and the media houses should take measures to ensure journalists’ safety. The Sub-Committee under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Ullah discussed a potential legislation for proactive protection of journalists and media workers,…

Islamabad, 14 April 2016: Bytes for All, Pakistan, Media Matters for Democracy and the Association for Progressive Communications express grave concerns over the regressive Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill and reject the bill in its current shape. The draconian bill passed by the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, PML-N, remains a direct threat to…

Islamabad, 12 April 2016: Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 has been passed by National Assembly of Pakistan today. The bill was passed despite continued resistance and criticisms from human and digital rights The bill was passed despite continued resistance and criticisms from human and digital rights organisations. Even though the Government took over a…

Islamabad, 10th April 2016: High level judicial commission formed to inquire into the attack on Hamid Mir on 19th April 2014 in Karachi has stated its inability to find the identity of the culprit(s) or fixing the responsibility of the incident on any individual, group or organisation. This has been stated in a yet unconfirmed…

April 10, 2016: The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill (PECB) has been on the Orders of the Day twice during last week’s National Assembly session. Due to the focus on the Panama leaks, the House has been preoccupied with discussing just that. However this does not mean PECB will not eventually make it to the…

Islamabad, 23 February 2016: A nationwide consultative process with media stakeholders, for drafting of Media Workers Safety and Welfare Bill 2016 has been initiated by a ministerial committee set up for the purpose of facilitating legislation around media safety. A meeting of the committee was held in Islamabad on Tuesday and committee members shared consolidated…

Islamabad, 1 February 2016: Media Matters for Democracy, with support from Rozan and Coalition for Ethical Journalism launches a series of web shows to address the policy and practice issues in the media industry. Humara Media is a web-show, to discuss and openly debate on various policy and practice issues plaguing Pakistan’s media industry, without the…

Dera Ismail Khan, 2 January 2016: Another journalist has been shot dead in Dera Ismail Khan. Muhammad Umer was targeted at Niazi Chowk by unidentified persons. Muhammad Umer was affiliated with a local newspaper. According to police, the killers managed to escape after targeting Umer. Saddar police station has registered the case and initiated investigations.…

Islamabad, 7 January 2016: Members of a specialised voluntary forum, ‘working group on PEMRA reforms’ met with the newly appointed chairman PEMRA, Absar Alam, on Tuesday the 5th of January, to formally present compliance related recommendations drafted and prepared with facilitation from Media Matters for Democracy. The group congratulated Absar Alam and expressed hope for…

Islamabad, 5 December 2015: The team members of Media Matters for Democracy facilitated the formation of a specialised group comprising of top-notch media practitioners, managers, human rights activists and legal advisor(s) to come together and draft recommendations for reforms in electronic media regulatory policies and compliance related issues under the mandate of PEMRA. The group…

Islamabad November 25 2015: Muhafiz, a digital solution for the protection of journalists has been initiated by Media Matters for Democracy in collaboration with Code for Pakistan, Peshawar Press Club and National Press Club Islamabad. Muhafiz is a digital safety net, that seeks to streamline the documentation of threats to media workers, crowdsource safety-related information (safety…

Islamabad, 21 November 2015: A design workshop to help conceptualise Muhafiz, a digital solution for the protection of journalists was held at MMfD office on Saturday, 21st of November 2015. The workshop brought together a group of journalists and developers to brainstorm and design ideas. Muhafiz is a digital safety net being developed by MMfD…

ISLAMABAD, 18 November 2015: Media Matters for Democracy launches Humara Media, a series of web-shows, discussing various policy and practice issues of Pakistan’s broadcast media industry. The web-show is an initiative of Pakistan Coalition for Ethical Journalism led currently by Rozan and has been produced by Media Matters for Democracy. Humara Media is a sixteen episode series,…

Islamabad, 8 November 2015: Media Matters for Democracy and Code for Pakistan join hands to develop Muhafiz, Pakistan’s first semi crowdsourced, digital threat reporting system for media workers and bloggers. Muhafiz is currently in design phase and will be made available for end users by January 2016. The development of Muhafiz is a natural outcome of years…

ISLAMABAD, 18 November 2015: Humara Media, a web-show, looking at various policy and practice issues that plague the Pakistani media industry and have an impact on the ethical conduct of media, is due to launch on 20th November 2015. The web-show is an initiative of Pakistan Coalition for Ethical Journalism, PCEJ, led currently by Rozan…

Islamabad, 13 November 2015: We are very happy to welcome Sahar Habib Ghazi, the newest member of MMfD’s Governing Board. Sahar is the Managing Editor of a community-based newsroom at Global Voices, setting a unique news agenda that aims to builds bridges and global understanding. She has previously worked for The New York Times, DawnNews TV,…

Islamabad, 11 November 2015: Media Matters for Democracy writes a letter to Pakistan’s electronic media regulator PEMRA to inquire about the exact clause under which the broadcasters were barred from fair criticism of Saudi Arabia over Mina incident. The letter was sent in the wake of PEMRA’s avoidance of protocol in sending regulatory messages to…

Via Dawn.com TANK: Tribal journalist and human rights activist Mohammad Zaman Mehsud was gunned down in an ambush in Tank, southern district of Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, on Tuesday, only a day after the International Day of End Impunity Against Journalists was observed the world over. Police and witnesses said that Zaman Mehsud was going to Tank…

Islamabad, 2nd November 2015: The lack of consequences for those who target journalists in Pakistan is resulting in increasing violence against the members of media fraternity; this sentiment echoed in the statements made by a small group of journalists and civil society actors gathered in Islamabad to mark the International Day to End…

Via Dawn.com PESHAWAR/LANDI KOTAL: A tribal journalist hailing from Khyber Agency sustained injuries when an unidentified person opened firing on him in the limits of Hayatabad police station here late on Tuesday, police said. The tribal journalist Abdul Azam Shinwari, a resident of Landi Kotal, works for the state news agency APP and Pakistan Television.…

KARACHI, 9 September 2015: Senior journalist Aftab Alam was shot dead by two armed assailants in North Karachi. Aftab Alam was critically injured during the attack and breathed his last in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while being treated. This is the 3rd attack on media workers within the span of 24 hours. On 8th September Geo…

KARACHI, 8th September 2015: Geo News’s satellite engineer succumbed to injuries after receiving seven bullets in an attack on Geo’s DSNG Van. According to details, here gunmen open fire on the channel’s DSNG van parked on Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi. Arshid Ali Jaffery was seriously injured and driver of the DSNG van received bullets in his…

Via Dawn.com QUETTA: Security agencies and police have arrested two high-profile ‘target killers’ involved in the murder of two journalists and an accountant in Quetta along with other terrorist activities. Security sources say the accused belonged to a banned militant outfit. Balochistan Home Minister Mir Safaraz Bugti during a press conference at the Home Ministry…

Islamabad, 21 August 2015: Speaking on the occasion of certificate distribution among the participants, Ms. Vibeke Jensen, UNESCO Representative highlighted the significant role of female journalists in contributing to educate and inform the citizens towards a peaceful, developed and democratic society. She said that with the introduction of digital technologies and the high numbers of users…

Islamabad, 21 August 2015: A digital safety helpdesk to assist women in media dealing with issues of digital security or online harassment has been set up at a local media development organisation, Media Matters for Democracy, in Islamabad. The creation of digital security help desk has followed the conclusion of a series of two digital…

Islamabad, 19 August 2015: MMfD announces the setting up of a virtual help-desk for women in media facing digital security issues at the conclusion of two day workshop on digital security for women journalists and bloggers. The help-desk would operate virtually through MMfD’s website www.mediamatters.pk and would also be physically hosted at the organisational office.…

Two day digital security workshop for women journalists and bloggers Connected and Safe started at Media Matters for Democracy today [18 August 2015]. The workshop is being conducted with support from UNESCO Pakistan and brings together 15 journalists, bloggers and other media professionals to discuss issues related to digital threats. The workshop was attended by…

Islamabad, August 12: A meeting of the subcommittee of the NA Standing Committee on IT has been called on August 13. Civil society actors working on revisions in PECB2015 have received neither intimation nor invitation to join the meeting. The subcommittee was formed during the previous session of the standing committee with the purpose of…

Media Matters for Democracy urges government for serious action in cases of two missing journalists Karachi, 28 Jan 2015: Media Matters for Democracy and Pakistan Coalition on Media Safety expressed concern over the complete silence in the cases of two missing journalists from Sindh. MMfD is a civil-society watchdog organisation and PCOMS is a national alliance…

Islamabad, 17 June 2015: A joint statement was signed by Media Matters for Democracy which was submitted to the 29th Session of UN Human Rights Council, asking to ‘Promote Strong Encryption and Anonymity in the Digital Age’. Media Matters for Democracy, a Pakistan based civil-society organisation is geared towards digital rights advocacy and calls for a…

Islamabad, 19 June 2015: Media Matters for Democracy signs an open letter titled ‘ Implications of Internet.org on Privacy, Access and Net Neutrality’ addressed to Zuckerberg of Facebook. The letter aims to highlight the implications of Internet.org, a platform initiated and operated by Facebook Corporation which against the principles of net neutrality and privacy. The…

Islamabad, 25 May 2015: Media Matters for Democracy along with a group of national civil society organizations was called to a consultative meeting with National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT and Telecom yesterday. The invitation was extended by National Assembly’s staffers assisting the Standing Committee on IT and Telecom on the instructions of the Committee…

Ahmed Qureshi, a current affairs show host on Express TV “Q @ With Ahmed Qureshi”, hosted a show, focusing on the brutal murder of Sabeen Mehmud, director of PeaceNiche and owner of The Second Floor, on 26th April 2015. In this show, the host Ahmed Qureshi, makes seriously irresponsible claims without any proof and engages…

ISLAMABAD, 27 April 2015: MMfD strongly condemns rising violence against civil-society representatives and demands the government and law enforcement agencies to apprehend the perpetrators in Sabeen’s murder and bring them to justice. On 24th April 2015, one of the country’s most prominent social rights activists Sabeen Mehmud was shot dead in Karachi. Sabeen was hit…

Islamabad, 27 April 2015: Media Matters for Democracy and Bytes for All hosted a joint consultative meeting bringing together various stakeholders including parliamentarians to discuss reforms in draconian Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill proposed by the government. The consultation was aimed at bringing together parliamentarians and other stakeholders on a forum to discuss and formulate…

Islamabad, 27 April 2015: Media Matters for Democracy co-hosts Peace Tech Exchange, an initiative to bring together civic actors to brainstorm ideas for civic tech development for activists from KPK and GB. Peace Tech events are aimed at discussing and developing civic technology solutions that low cost, easy to use and empower peace-builders in conflict zones with low-cost.…

About Media Matters for Democracy

Registered as a not for profit, ‘Media Matters for Democracy’ is a vision and a belief that a liberal, professional media industry is the cornerstone of a progressive, democratic society. We strive for an inclusive, democratic media industry that is tech-friendly, progressive diverse, professional and secure. We work towards a digitally advanced, sustainable and empowered media.